B is for Beginning
by squad51rescue
Summary: Roy Desoto and John Gage are just beginning their partnership.
1. Chapter 1

B is for Beginning

Chapter 1

Fireman/Paremedic Roy Desoto shouldered his way into the locker room at his new station – Station 51 in Carson. He was pleasantly surprised to see his partner of one month already seated on the bench in front of his locker, a white towel dangling loosely between his fingers, head bent down with water dripping off his dark hair. Desoto smiled at the white line around the younger man's hairline, plainly evidence of a fresh haircut on Gage's tanned skin.

"Good morning Gage! How was your day off?"

"Hey…..Roy," John Gage finally replied, slowly raising his head to look over at Roy.

Roy stopped his rummaging in his locker and looked closer at Gage. His partner was squinting up at him, dark rings under his eyes. Roy watched him run the towel through his hair a final time and drop it on the floor in front of him, before pushing himself off the bench with both hands. Johnny smiled sheepishly and finally answered the question.

"Left the station, got a haircut, walked into my apartment all ready for a nap – made the serious mistake of answering the phone. It was my old captain over at 10's, one of their lineman called in with the flu or something. So that's how I spent my day off….."

Roy grunted in sympathy and turned back to his dressing. He lifted up his sandals and placed them neatly in the bottom of his locker before straddling the bench to pull on dark socks and his leather boots, wishing he could work in the sandals. An unusual heat wave of temperatures in the 90's had plagued the city for the last three days, and showed no signs of relenting even though fall was almost upon them. Roy frowned as he watched Johnny pull on his dark blue jacket over his still untucked uniform shirt.

"You expecting a cold front to move in this morning? You're over there layering up, and I'm sitting here seriously considering REMOVING my tshirt! You ok Johnny?"

"Yeah, nothing a cup of coffee won't cure, and maybe a nap. Kinda swallowed some water on a rescue…..think I'm still feeling the effects of that."

"Rescue? Thought you said that you worked the truck?"

"I did. But they had six, SIX Roy, cars go over into the Dominguez Channel! Can you believe that?" John blew out his breath in a frustrated sigh, and half stifled the cough that escaped him. He finished tucking his shirt in as the door swung open and their engineer, Mike Stoker, poked his head in.

"Hey, guys, roll in 5…"

"Ok, thanks Stoker," Roy replied, pushing his locker door shut with the palm of his hand and waiting for his partner to pick up his wet towel and precede him. The men followed Stoker into the bay, picking up their hats along the way. The other three men were already waiting, loosely grouped in a semicircle in front of the engine.

Captain Hammer came out of his office and joined them. He paused, looking them over, before greeting them as a group.

"Lopez, you handling the meals today? How much do we need to give you?"

"Three each will do it, Captain." The Hispanic lineman replied, holding out his hand as his crewmates reached into their wallets and handed the money to him.

"B shift used a lot of hose on their shift – Stoker, Kelly get that cleaned up, will you. Desoto, handle the day room and the bay….Gage, take the dorms. Don't think you need to change the bunks, the men never had the chance to use them. And according to the captain over at 10's, once you're done with the cleanup, Gage, YOU need to hit the sack. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir….." Gage mumbled, inadvertently turning so that the left side of his face was clearly visible for the first time to his colleagues. A collective gasp arose from the group as they saw the vivid bruising running down the side of his face from his temple down to his jawline. Roy had no doubt that the bruising continued along his arm and down his side, judging by the way his partner was absentmindedly rubbing his left arm and listing subtly to the right.

Their captain cleared his throat, folded his arms, and looked quietly around the circle. "Gage was pulling an overtime shift at 10's, when they were called out at about 10 pm for that block fire down on Lomita. Our station went out on the second alarm about 10:30 – cleanup didn't start until almost 6am, it was that bad. Gage, fill us in on your mishap."

Johnny lifted his head, but kept his eyes down as he answered, nervously pushing his hands into his front pockets. "Weeelllllll…..we were into it about three hours by then, not sure how many stations were in it by then. I was backing up a boot from 36's on a line about 200 feet into one of the buildings….he kinda lost control of the hose and went sideways….the nozzle snaked up and whacked me a good one on the face before I was able to fall on it," Gage paused and again unconsciously rubbed his arm, "and get full control of it."

He finally raised his eyes and looked at Roy, then glanced back at his captain before visibly shuddering and folding his own arms tightly across his body, mimicking Hammer's stance.

"According to Captain Smith at 36's, you did a pretty thorough job of gaining control of that wild hose and keeping their boot from serious injury. Good job, John. Now let's get to work men…."

The crew silently dispersed, shooting glances at their tired, disheveled paramedic as they did so. Mike Stoker hit the button to raise the back bay door and headed in the direction of the hose tower, stopping by Gage on his way. He laid a hand gently on the other man's shoulder and spoke softly to him, eliciting a small smile and nod from the younger man. Chet Kelly did the same, before following the lanky engineer outside.

Roy Desoto watched all of this, leaning on the front fender of their squad. As soon as his partner made a move toward the dorm, he straightened out and crossed the cement floor towards John. John immediately stopped, turned slightly and raised a stopping hand. He shook his head at Roy, smiled, and trudged out of sight around the engine.

Roy sighed and continued on into the day room. After a few minutes of clearing up the counters and large table, he smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand and loped back into the bay. After only a month of being a certified paramedic, he wasn't quite settled into the daily routine yet of the required tasks he and his partner needed to take care of at the start of every shift. It didn't make him feel any better that apparently his junior partner had forgotten also…

After the required radio check with Rampart, and checking through the medical supplies, Roy returned to the kitchen. It didn't take long to clean up the area, especially with Marco commandeering the kitchen area to begin preparations for lunch and supper. He only saw Johnny once, when the dark haired paramedic pushed the mop bucket into the kitchen, pointed mutely at it, and left. Roy moved into the bay area and swept and mopped it – after having Mike move the engine into the front driveway alongside the squad.

Two hours later Roy Desoto crept stealthily into the dorm and peered across the room, locating his partner on his bunk. John was curled up tightly on his right side, the white sheet pulled up to his chin. Desoto moved across the room to stand by the side of bed, peering down at his sleeping crewmate. He noticed the flush look of his skin, and resisted the urge to put his hand across John's forehead to check for fever.

"Don't EVEN think about doing what you are about to do," John slurred, obviously annoyed, without opening his eyes. Roy jumped back, realizing that he had been leaning slightly forward in order to locate his partner's wrist to check his pulse. He gulped and took up a defensive stance.

"And just what was I about to do?"

John finally opened his eyes and snaked both arms out from under the covers, stretching and wincing as he did so. He sat up slightly, forearms under him, and glared at the older man waiting patiently for his reply. Roy noticed that he now had the blue jacket zipped up to his chin.

"Kinda looked like you were about to play doctor on me, that's what, partner." John dropped back onto his pillow and briefly closed his eyes, before opening them again and turning his head towards Roy.

"Can you blame me? I've got all these paramedic skills just going to waste…first you tell me that you swallowed water, then I get to hear about how you got whaled on by a charged hose…combine that with no sleep, probably no food, and the fact that you look and sound like death warmed over….makes me want to utilize all of our learning and get some good practice in."

Roy smiled and relaxed his posture. He watched his partner yawn, sit up again, and untangle himself from the sheet before swinging his uniform clad legs over the side of the bed. Whatever reply John was going to make was forestalled by the klaxons going off for the first time that shift.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The bay door was going up as Roy jumped into the cab, only seconds before his partner opened the passenger door and slid in, work boots clutched in his right hand. The captain leaned in the open window, handing the call slip to the driver before making a move toward the engine. Roy slapped his helmet on his head, handed over the paper to Gage, and started the squad in well-practiced moves. The squad moved forward, lights and sirens flashing and blaring as they led the way onto 223rd Street, the engine seconds behind them.

"Take the first left coming up here, then right onto the entrance ramp. Should be about a quarter of a mile beyond that," Gage instructed, pushing his helmet back in annoyance, the chin strap dangling loosely under his chin. He had his left foot up on the seat pulling his boot on; nimble fingers quickly tied the lace and the right socked foot replaced the booted foot.

"Ok…"Desoto replied, glancing over and trying not to wince at the vividly hued bruising on his partner's face. He risked a quick second look at the perspiration beading John's brow and upper lip; a single drip was slowly running down the bruise. Roy opened his mouth to make a comment and thought better of it as he felt the sweat starting to slowly make its way down his own back.

"There!" Johnny pointed ahead of them as they made their way slowly down the left side of the freeway, the side of the squad inches away from the dividing concrete barrier. Roy swung the wheel hard to the right and parked the squad long ways in front of the two lanes of traffic that was stopped; the harried motorists in those two lanes trying to merge into the lanes slowly moving forward to the right of them.

Both paramedics looked for a second at the lone car facing forward in front of them; the left back bumper was about six inches away from the concrete divider with the car slightly angled off to the right. There was no evident damage to the car, and no sign of leakage or fire.

"I'll go see what we got, get the gear, will ya?" Gage asked, already in motion around the front of the cab, pulling on his gloves. Desoto didn't reply as he had already moved around the back of the squad, unlocked the compartment, and pulled out the biophone and drug box. He looked up in time to see his partner stop at the front of the car, pause, then lean forward to look towards the windshield, gloved hands resting on the hood. Gage took a startled step back and shot a questioning look at his approaching crewmate before trotting rapidly over to the driver's door.

Roy had just made the back bumper of the car when he noticed out of the corner of his eye the engine finally weaving its way through the honking line of cars on his right. A motorcycle officer was leading the way. He paused as he saw Gage move backwards from the car and lift the handi talki to his mouth.

"HT 51 to Engine 51…we have a Code F here…no fuel leak…" Johnny waved Roy back, shaking his head at him so hard that he dislodged his loosely strapped helmet, knocking it to the pavement. Roy stopped, trying to quell the inappropriately timed thought that entered his head about the jokes that had preceded the younger man to Station 51 – Gage was always losing his helmet; he watched his partner bend over to pick up his helmet, then abruptly stride forward 4 or 5 huge steps. Johnny leaned over, left hand resting on the wall, his back to Roy, and started vomiting.

"Johnny!" Roy yelled, dropping the boxes and trying to maneuver between the freeway divider and the car. He grunted in annoyance as he caught his pant leg on the edge of the bumper and reached down to pull it free. Gage straightened up, wiping his mouth with the back of his gloved hand, and turned toward the older man, putting his hand forward in the now oddly familiar "stop" gesture Roy had been given earlier at the station.

"Just…just give me a minute, ok? And Roy, don't look in there, ok?" He didn't wait for an answer, but jammed his helmet back on his head and turned to face the westbound lanes of moving vehicles, resting his hands on the concrete barrier.

Roy studied his partner's profile for a second, noticing the clenched jaw, hell – even from here he could see the jumping muscle, and the slitted eye. He wondered what emotions were causing that tense look – disgust, revulsion, anger? There was a lot of things he didn't know about this young man, but the one thing that he was absolute sure of was that John Gage was 100% professional on the job. He trusted his judgment and instincts. Roy sighed and backed up, picked up the hastily dropped boxes, and made a slow retreat back towards the flashing lights of the squad.

He was still standing in front of the opened compartment on the passenger side, gazing within, when he heard the slow footsteps coming towards him and the door opening. He looked up in time to see Gage fling his gloves in disgust to the floorboard, and flip his helmet to the seat. He watched, trying to keep his face expressionless, as the obviously annoyed paramedic slumped onto the seat, head bent and twitching hands dangling between his legs as he planted his feet on the pavement.

Desoto gently closed the compartment door and turned the key. He leaned against the squad, his left arm and hand braced against the gleaming, red paint as he waited patiently for John.

"Ya know, Roy, I've been a rescue man for, what, over two years now? And I've never seen anything like that….hell, I hope I never see it again!" John raised his head and squinted over at Roy, scrubbing the palm of his hand across his forehead, down the side of his nose, and across his cheekbone in an irritated gesture that Roy instantly recognized, from his own experiences, as the symptoms of a pounding headache.

"What was it?"

"A huge rock, no, a boulder, smashed right through the windshield and hit the guy dead on…..at least I think it was a guy, there isn't enough….ahh Roy…man…...he was wearing a tux….where do you think he was going at almost 11 in the morning, on a Saturday? Had to be something big…" his voice trailed off in abject misery as he sighed and lowered his head to stare at his scuffed boots, hands now tapping a mindless rhythm against his pants.

"Johnny…" Roy nudged his distraught friend with the canteen, not quite sure what to say. "Thanks for warning me…."

He looked up and flashed Roy a tight smile, taking the proffered canteen. "Well, that's what partners do, right?"

Roy shrugged and smiled back, jumping slightly when a hand came down on his shoulder. Their captain stood there, looking at both men with concern. He motioned towards Gage, who, eyes closed and one hand pressed against his head, was downing the contents of the canteen.

"He's ok, got a killer of a headache though…." John jumped, as startled as Roy had been, and sprayed a mouthful of water out narrowly missing his captain. He started coughing and both men reached in and pulled him forward and out of the seat.

"I'm….I'm good, ok…" Gage choked out, finally standing upright and swiping at his tearing eyes. "Just didn't hear ya…"

Hammer nodded, releasing his hold on the younger man. "Why don't you head the squad back to the barn, we shouldn't be far behind."

"Right, Captain," Desoto replied, taking the emptied canteen out of his partner's hand. He pushed him gently back toward the seat before making his own way back to the driver's side and jumping in, laying the canteen down on the seat between them. Gage looked over at him and then picked up his helmet from the seat and hung it up; he leaned back wearily with a sigh and closed his eyes once again as Roy slowly merged into the one lane left open on the freeway.

Both men were silent on the way back to the station, even though Roy had a thousand questions running through his mind. As they backed into the apparatus bay, John picked up the mike and reported them back in quarters.

"Squad 51, stand by for response…." It was Roy who sighed this time, stopping and shifting the squad into park, the front of the truck sticking out of the bay.

"Squad 51, unknown type rescue, 1022 N Avalon Blvd, 1-0-2-2 N Avalon Blvd, cross street Anaheim, time out 11:18."

"Squad 51, 10-4…" John acknowledged, writing down the info on a slip of paper and slapping his helmet back on his head. Roy pulled back out, the doors closing behind them as they turned and headed west.


	3. Chapter 3

Ok, I have the following rescue clearly played out in my mind, but when it came down to getting it right on paper, I stalled a bit, so hopefully all of you readers can conjure up this scene within your own imagination. I remember doing some of these acrobatics myself when I was younger, so they are definitely doable. Enjoy!

Don't own the characters, wish I did, just borrowing 'em for awhile.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3<span>

The address turned out to be in a residential area – as the squad pulled up to the curb a heavily pregnant woman waddled up, arms waving frantically in the air. The dark haired paramedic was only half way out the door, gloves in hand, when she latched onto his arm, pulling at his jacket with one hand and digging her red tipped fingernails through the fabric and into his arm with the other hand. Gage winced and wondered what his arm would look like if he didn't have his jacket on….

"Ma'am, ma'am you need to calm down….MA'AM!" Johnny growled out the last word, finally catching the panicked woman's attention. "What's the problem? Is it you…."

"No, no! It's my kids, they're stuck up the tree in the backyard, I'm so afraid they'll fall, I can't get them down…obviously! This way, this way….." She grabbed Johnny by the arm and started pulling him towards a side gate leading to the back yard. Shooting his partner a "you've got to be kidding me look", the bemused young man allowed her to tug him after her, narrowly missing knocking them both to the ground when he tripped over a sprinkler hidden in the shaggy grass. Roy, trotting after them with a gear box in each hand, smiled as his counterpart righted himself and firmly took control of the situation – gently disengaging himself from her grip and taking HER elbow in his hand and escorting her forward.

After skirting around the toys and playground equipment scattered about the large backyard, the paramedics could finally see the tree, but not any children. They moved forward under the shady canopy and peered upwards – finally locating the dangling legs of two small children perched precariously within its branches. Both men paused, wondering exactly how the kids had managed to scale their way up into the tree. Johnny loped around the tree in a circle, looking up into the branches. He made his way back to the front of the tree and tossed his helmet to the ground off to one side.

"Hey Roy, there's a knotted rope hanging down on the back side…I think that's how they got up there…

"Better call for an engine and get a ladder up there," the older man replied, pulling the HT away from his wrist where it dangled from the strap.

"No no! There's a ladder right there hanging on the house…use that! My husband put that rope up there, I don't know what he was thinking!" The woman kept on rambling hysterically, even as the paramedics trotted over to the ladder suspended from hooks and lowered it down. One man on each end, they carried it to the tree and leaned it against the trunk. Johnny stepped back out of the shade and looked up again, shading his eyes against the noon sun.

"I'll go up over there, see if I can reach them and hand them down to you, k?" He didn't wait for a reply but scurried over to the rope, pulling on his gloves that were jammed into his back pocket. He pulled on the rope to test it, then nimbly began climbing up hand to hand, and launched himself up and out of sight into the dense canopy of green.

Roy could hear John talking to the children as he made sure the feet of the ladder were stable; he began climbing up the rungs. Once his feet reached the next to the top rung, he stopped and peered upwards, the top of his helmet brushing against the leaves. He stretched his arms upward; there was a good two to three feet between the tips of his fingers and the swinging, tennis shoe clad legs of the children above him.

From his branch above but to the left of the two kids, John looked down at the tousled blond heads. A boy and a girl, about six years old, were straddling a branch. The boy was behind the girl, arms wrapped tightly around her middle. Their heads were rotating between John and his partner, but both children seemed calm and unhurt.

"Hey guys, my name is John and I'm a fireman. What's your names?"

The girl turned her head back in his direction and pouted her lip out. "I'm Sara and this is my twin Matthew. How come you don't have a helmet on if you're a fireman?"

"Well, I'll tell you…I'm always getting in trouble from my captain 'cause I can't seem to keep that thing on my head. It's down there in the grass by the tree, near your mom. But you notice my partner Roy down there has his on, I guess he listens better than I do. You ready to come down now?"

"Yep," Matthew replied, "my butt hurts. How you gonna get us out of here?"

John peered down at the branch the kids were straddling, knowing there was no way the limb was going to support his weight; the tip of it was already bending downwards. Every time the twins shifted, it quivered beneath their 100 pounds of combined weight. He hoped one of them wouldn't make a sudden move, as the branch looked springy enough to catapult one or both of them into the air.

"I've got a plan, but I need you to do something for me. Try to sit really still, alright?" Gage rose from his crouched position to his feet, moving sideways on the limb to his left. He cautiously encircled some of the trunk with his arms, and swung his lower body out and around the trunk, planting both feet awkwardly on a branch that jutted out at an angle but was almost directly above the kids. He slid the rest of his body around the trunk and paused for a moment to catch his breath, one arm still around the trunk. Letting go of the trunk, he carefully turned around on the branch so that his back was to Roy and the kids and sat down. He thrust both legs out and pushed his feet against the branch parallel to him that had the rope tied to it; he removed his gloves and laid them down on the branch. He slowly reached forward and grabbed the rope, untying the simple knot and pulling the rope up and into a coil.

From his perch down below, Roy peered up through the leaves and branches, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. He watched as his partner hitched the rope to the branch he was now fully crouching on, and slowly let it drop behind him. The rope fell down past Matthew's position and stopped about a foot below the limb they were sitting on. John turned his head and looked down at the kids, his left hand on the tree trunk for balance and his right hand resting on the branch.

"Ok kids, which one of you wants to go first? I'm going to get my arms around you and lower you down to my partner, but I'm going to be upside down and will need to move kinda fast…."

"Johnny are you sure…?" Roy queried, trying to get a better view of Gage. He barely heard John's soft reply of "trust me, partner" because the kids had begun to bounce in excitement, causing the branch to spring up and down.

"Matthew first!" John shouted, making a quick decision after seeing the antics of the kids below him. He moved down the rope with his whole body, about a foot ,before scissoring his legs around it and going over backwards in one swift movement. He grunted as his lower back hit the vibrating branch the kids were bouncing on, but reached over in a twisting motion and grasped Matthew with both hands, pulling him away from his sister. He slowly let his weight drop backwards again, turning the boy and lowering him with straining arms downwards to the stretching hands of Desoto. Roy slid his hands up the boy's dangling legs until he got a good grip around his waist, yelled "got him" to his gasping partner, then rapidly descended almost to the bottom of the ladder and handed off Matthew to the patiently waiting patrolman below.

Johnny, stomach muscles furiously protesting, twisted himself partially upright to the left again, his legs beginning to quiver. "Sweetheart, can you slide backwards just a bit, towards me?"

Sara obligingly slid herself backwards several inches, allowing the fireman to encircle her waist with his arms. He plucked her off the branch, turning her as he let himself go over backwards again. He could hear Roy climbing the ladder below him, and hoped he was close. Seconds later the weight was removed from his grasp, and after he heard Roy's "got her" he released his grip, and heaved his top half up on the kids' branch, his cramping legs above the limb releasing from the rope and smacking downwards onto the branch. He lay prone on the wildly vibrating limb, hoping his weight wouldn't snap it; he rested his cheek against the bark and held on for dear life until the bucking subsided and he could catch his breath.

Roy carried the girl over to her mother, trying to hide his smile as the still wildly excited woman tried to put her arms around both of them; her protruding stomach stopping her from accomplishing the task even halfway. He set the girl down on the ground and watched a moment as the mother was finally able to encircle the child and pull her into a smothering hug. Matthew ran up to the pair, Gage's helmet hanging down past his ears, and joined in the noisy fray.

This time Roy smiled and turned his attention back to the tree. He could see the boots and blue legs of John slowly descending the ladder, the police officer steadying the ladder. Roy frowned in puzzlement when the patrolman reached up and shook John's foot; the feet paused for a moment and then the shook foot kicked out and lightly tapped the cop on the head. With an audible thump, his partner skipped the last two rungs and jumped to the ground, the knotted rope coiled and hanging from his left hand. He paused to say something to the uniformed man, who responded with a bray of laughter, then continued over to Roy, a quirky smile in place on his perspiring face.

"My friend Drew, motorcycle cop extraordinaire….Well, I wonder just how long it will be before those kids are in that tree again?" He smirked, looking over at the family. "I guess we'd better get that ladder down before they get any more ideas."

Roy shook his head as both men headed back to the tree. "I'll lay money on their mother going into panic induced labor before then…."

Gage rolled his eyes and snorted, slapping the end of the rope against Roy's derriere. "If that happens, partner, you get to deliver even though it's my turn! I think I'm gonna hafta have stitches where she clawed my arm! There's no way I'm gonna be within 10 feet of those lethal weapons!"

His partner tried to keep his laughter in check as they put the ladder back in its place and joined the family and Drew, who was trying to fill out his report. Johnny retrieved his helmet from Matthew, narrowly escaping the now thankful clutches of the mother, who was trying to smother her children with hugs and kisses while grabbing for the paramedics. John's friend finally escorted the trio into the house and the partners began the hazard strewn walk back towards the squad.

"Awww…I left my gloves up in that tree. Go ahead, Roy, I'll meet you at the squad." Roy answered with a wave of his hand and disappeared around the corner of the house. The dark haired man trotted back over to the tree and threw the rope back up over the original branch, fastened a simple hitch, and climbed his way back up. After pocketing the gloves, he unhitched the rope and coiled it over his shoulder. He made his way to the lowest branch, swung over the branch and down, hanging for a second with an overhang grip, and then dropped the five feet to the ground.

Gage hung the rope up on the ladder, safely out of reach of the twins, and jogged his way to the corner of the house. He halted suddenly, leaning up against the back corner, bending from the waist and bracing his hands on his knees. Gasping slightly, he tried to quell the rising nausea and keep from losing the contents of the canteen now churning in his stomach.

"Awww man, come on…"he muttered, pressing one hand up against his forehead, his pounding headache back in play now that the adrenaline rush had worn off. Taking deep breaths, he finally straightened up and shivered, using the sleeve of his still zipped jacket to wipe off his face. "Get it together, Gage, the shift isn't even half over."

Finally, after composing his features into a carefully blank expression, he moved carefully toward the squad and his waiting partner. He was surprised to see Roy still standing by an open compartment door, hefting something in his hand. When John got closer, he could see that it was one of their life belts. He smiled sheepishly as Desoto glared at him and swung the belt toward him in a menacing arc.

"You do know what one of these is, right? And what they're used for?"

"Yeah…sure…really Roy, there wasn't a heck of a lot of time….that branch was either going to shoot those kids into space or deposit them into a not too pretty heap on the ground…." Roy snorted and threw the belt back into the compartment. Johnny was glad for the diversion as he cautiously opened his door and slid slowly into the seat before Roy had made it around to his own door.

After John called them in as available, there was silence for a few moments as Roy navigated out of the neighborhood and back onto the main roads. John turned his head slightly and looked at his partner, who seemed lost in his own thoughts.

"You've got kids, right?"

Roy shot a quick look at Gage, wondering where this conversation was headed. "Two kids, boy and a girl. Why?"

"Would your kids do something like that, you know, climb up into that huge tree?"

"Not really sure, they're kind of young right now …but I have a feeling that my daughter will probably be the ringleader in that sort of adventure when they get a little older."

"Huh…I would have been up in that tree probably younger than that, but then again I wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week after my old man tanned my hide." Johnny smiled slightly, apparently recalling some memory. "Not that it would have stopped me from doing it again….."

Roy looked back over at his partner, noticing that he was rubbing his face again and his skin seemed flush. "Yeah, my dad would have done the same. But unlike you, I wouldn't have tried again. You going to need some aspirin when we get back? Looks like you still have that headache."

John picked up the canteen, still lying between them on the seat, and shook it. "Guess we missed lunch again…wanna stop somewhere and eat? I think my stomach is eating itself. And yeah, I really need those aspirin….."

The men stopped at a burger joint about two miles from Station 51; the locally owned restaurant was fast becoming one of their "one of those days" places to stop and grab a bite when they missed a meal. Head down, Roy had uncharacteristically wolfed down half his burgers and fries in anticipation of being called out.

Finally coming up for air, he swallowed and washed down his calorie laden food with several swallows of soda before glancing across the picnic table at Gage. His partner had his own head bent over his food, but instead of eating it was distractedly pulling the top of the bun apart with his long fingers. His soda, straw and lid laying abandoned on the table, was completely gone except for several slivers of ice. Feeling his gaze on him, Johnny finally lifted his head and looked back, before shrugging and pushing himself to his feet. He gathered up his trash and dumped it before heading over to the cab of the truck, ht swinging from his hand.

Roy closed his slightly opened mouth and shrugged also, before leisurely finishing the rest of his food. When he climbed into the squad, his partner was slouched down, head against the back of the seat, shoulder leaning against the door, and eyes closed. Roy, remembering the persistent headache, felt a pang of guilt and hurriedly drove back to the station.

Once inside the apparatus bay, John clumsily exited the vehicle and made his way to the locker room. Roy slowly climbed out, feeling the greasy food sitting in the pit of his stomach and wondering if maybe his partner had had the right idea of abstaining from the food. Captain Hammer leaned out of his office, then stepped the rest of the way out and approached his senior paramedic.

"How'd that run go? What was the unknown rescue, anything serious? Didn't hear any requests for an ambulance."

"Nope, a couple of little kids stuck up a tree. I was more worried about their very pregnant mother going into labor; she was pretty high strung but maybe that's the way she always is. I only heard one call for the engine, pretty quiet?"

"Just a dumpster fire, cleanup took longer than putting out the fire. Have lunch? There's some leftovers in the fridge…Lopez is already busy on dinner."

"We ate on the way here…" Roy replied, following his captain into the day room to grab a glass of milk. Maybe that would help settle his queasy stomach.

Splashing cold water on his face, John Gage looked up into the mirror and grimaced at his reflection. It was a wonder that he hadn't scared those kids out of the tree with the colorful bruising, dark smudges under his eyes, and squinty eyes that he couldn't seem to be able to open all the way because of the incessant pounding behind them. He sighed, rinsed his mouth out, and headed over to his locker to root through his locker for the bottle of aspirin that he hoped he had in his gear bag. He'd barely made it into the latrine before losing the soda and the few bites of bun that he had swallowed down.

Roy pushed into the locker room and headed for the sink to wash up. He looked at his partner's reflection in the mirror as he washed his hands. "Do you need aspirin, or did you find some?"

Perched on the bottom of his locker, John held up his hand to show Roy the two white pills pinched between his thumb and index finger. Roy grimaced as the younger man dry swallowed them, then leaned back out of sight within the depths of his locker. Shaking his head in disgust, Roy dried his hands and headed back towards the bay, hoping for a little down time to fill out the log.

"Station 51, possible heart attack…" his hopes were squashed as the tones rang out, and the station 51 crew headed for their vehicles. The door was going up as Gage entered the vehicle, pulling on his uniform shirt over his v-neck tshirt, and tossing his jacket on the seat beside him…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The rest of the afternoon was busy, with four runs back to back for the squad. Luckily they had all been minor, with only two medical transports to Rampart. The heart attack victim had turned out to be a minor case of heartburn, while the two transports had been a teenager with a broken arm and a woman with a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting. After assisting on the "heart attack" run, the engine had responded to a gas leak at a gas station, and a minor fender bender on a surface road.

Backing the squad in, Roy swore he could smell the aroma of Marco's dinner wafting through the air. Something definitely spicy and Mexican in origin, he surmised, stretching his way out of the squad and trudging towards the kitchen. He could hear John behind him, maybe a little slower than the usual galloping pace he seemed to have, but definitely following the tantalizing odor. The men moved through the doorway and into the room, last ones in but clearly in time for the late dinner.

Marco seemed pleased that the paramedic team was there and handed each of them a plate as they pulled up chairs and settled down wearily to the table. A tray of red coated enchiladas presided over the center of the table, with a bowl of steaming rice nestled in beside it. A milk carton was circling around the table, as well as the ever present coffee pot.

There was complete silence as the men dished out the food and poured the drinks. The clatter of metal silverware dominated the room for several minutes before it was replaced by sighs of bliss and hearty congratulations to the chef of the day.

"Great food, Lopez! You sure one of your family didn't sneak this in when we were out on the runs?" The captain queried the lineman, reaching for a second helping of the rice.

Marco shook his head. "Nah, mama likes to make sure we all have at least basic skills in the kitchen. The recipe is from mi abuela – I'm going to have her cook something up for you guys – you won't believe her food!"

There were murmurs of assent as even the normally reserved Mike Stoker added his comments to the mix. Heads down, forks moving in rapid motions, none of the men noticed that the youngest man on their crew had only put a spoonful of rice on his plate and had only managed one bite of it, before getting up and scraping the contents of his plate in the trash. John rinsed his plate and set it on the counter by his silverware; he contemplated his unused milk glass for a moment before putting it back in the cupboard. Coffee cup in hand, he moved out of the room after slapping the cook on the shoulder.

Chet Kelly finally looked up from his emptied plate and looked over at Roy. "Geesh, DeSoto, how can he eat that fast? And where does he put it all? If he stands sideways, you can't even see the guy!"

Smiling, Roy let out a satisfied groan and pushed back an inch from the table. "I think Johnny burns it off as fast as he inhales it, Chet. There's been a couple of rescues since we've been partners where I've lost ten pounds just watching him in action!"

Dick Hammer looked over at his paramedic, contently laying down his own silverware on his empty plate. "He lose that headache, DeSoto?"

Roy paused in his motions to get up from his chair. He rubbed his neck in thought, mentally tracking backwards through the four runs. He realized he hadn't given his partner's headache a second thought after leaving the station for the first run. The paramedic team was still getting used to working together, especially on the medical calls that were new to everyone. But thinking back on it, Roy realized that his partner had stayed in the background on all four calls, handling the biophone and hanging back from the victims, while also letting Roy ride in the ambulance on the two transports. Even at the hospital, the normally gregarious Gage had simply waited for his partner outside by the exit doors.

"Not really sure…I'll go find out," he finally replied, getting to his feet and taking care of his dishes. Not seeing John in the locker room, he went through the door and into the dorm, where he saw his partner stretched out flat on his bed.

Dark hair still damp from a fast shower, Gage was in long johns and a clean t-shirt. His bunker pants, stuffed into his boots, were already in place by the side of his bed; his arms were crossed behind his head and his eyes closed. Feeling Roy's presence, he opened his eyes and looked questioningly at his partner. Roy sat down on his own bed and leaned back with a contented, stomach full sigh.

"I think Lopez is going to be the hands on favorite cook on A shift, although we may all gain a few pounds after a few meals of food like that…" John merely grunted his assent and closed his eyes again. Roy tried again.

"Cap wanted to know how you were feeling, still got that headache?"

Gage coughed slightly and finally answered in a soft tone, "still there, but not as bad."

Roy moved to his feet and looked down at his partner. "Did you get checked out after that hose slapped you around? You sure you didn't get a concussion?"

"Yes, I got checked out, at the hospital, and by the big man himself," he replied in annoyance, an expression of distaste flitting briefly across his face. He was still uneasy, and slightly distrustful of Dr. Kelly Brackett. Even though the good doctor had reversed his opinion on the paramedic program and had stood up for it when it counted the most, Gage still didn't feel comfortable around him. If he hadn't been so sore and tired on that overtime shift, he would have probably got into another confrontation with Brackett during his exam. The doctor had been almost rude and definitely condescending in some of his questions and comments to the exhausted fireman; John had wisely kept his thoughts to himself and answered in monosyllables only when he had to.

"Really, Roy, just let me get some rest, kay?" Gage dismissed his partner's attentions by pulling up his legs and sliding under the sheet and blanket and rolling onto his side. He slid further under the covers until only the top of his head was visible and curled into a tight ball.

"Yeah, yeah that does sound like a good idea. Maybe I'll do the same…early night for once….." Roy turned sharply on his heel and left the dorm, seeking out Captain Hammer to fill him in; he then took a shower hoping for some relief from the heat that seemed to be still wafting through the station, even though the sun had set several hours before.

In his bunker pants and clean shirt, suspenders hanging down, Roy poked his head into the day room to see what the rest of the crew was up to. The engine crew was gathered around the tv against the far wall; judging by the campy horror show that was playing, Chet must have gained control of the channel. A bowl of popcorn was making its way back towards Stoker, who was sitting in the chair closest to Roy. Roy stepped into the room and swiped the bowl from Mike's hands before it started back the other way, and helped himself to a handful of the buttered, salted snack. Mike shot him a look, but accepted the bowl back and passed it back down the other way.

Roy had enough time to down his popcorn when a crack of thunder startled all of the men in the room. Twenty seconds later the sound of rain hitting the roof brought smiles and exclamations out of the firemen, who as a group temporarily abandoned the movie and made their way to the back door.

"There goes the heat wave!" Chet exclaimed, relief in his voice. He scurried back to the television as the other four looked at each other, not voicing what they were also thinking…..here goes the stupid accidents!

Thirty minutes passed before Roy decided he had seen enough of the movie; he really didn't want thoughts of mutant grasshoppers invading his sleep. He trudged his way into the dorm, leaving the lights off and finding his way to his bed by the occasional flares of lightning. Judging by his partner's slow, even breathing, he had finally succumbed to sleep. Roy yawned and stepped out of his turnouts, sliding under the sheet but pushing the blanket to the bottom of his bunk. Hopefully he could catch some sleep before the calls started rolling in.

His partner HAD finally fell asleep thirty minutes before the storm hit, but the thunder had woken him up, leaving him slightly disoriented and groggy. He listened to DeSoto settle himself, before stretching himself out and sitting up. The klaxons sounded and the light went on; the paramedics immediately stepped into their pants and boots and moved toward the bay. The call was for the engine only and Roy turned back to his bunk, while John headed for the kitchen.

Scrounging through the cupboards, he found a sleeve of saltine crackers and then filled a glass with water. Nibbling and sipping, he opened the back door and stood in the doorway contemplating the falling rain. He shivered as the damp air brushed across his flushed skin, and instinctively laid the back of his hand across his forehead.

"Gotta be the flu," he muttered in disgust, feeling the heat. Closing the door, he dumped the remains of his water in the sink and tossed the crackers into a glass canister on the counter. Going out into the bay, he debated about digging through the equipment and pulling out the thermometer, but decided against it. He moved into the locker room, opened his locker, and shrugged on his navy blue jacket. He pulled out the aspirin bottle and shaking three into his hand, he tossed the bottle back in and closed the door softly. This time he chased the pills down with a handful of water from the sink.

Returning to the dorm, he slid out of the turnouts and slipped back under the covers, pulling them up to his chin. Fingers laced together and arms behind his head, he stared up at the ceiling and thought about that day's runs. The tree rescue brought a brief smile as he mused about the stoic kids and their frantic parent. It was great seeing his friend Drew again, it had been awhile since the men had hung out together and John resolved to give him a call and see if they could coordinate their schedules. Roy had definitely been right about that safety belt though; John felt like every muscle in his body was on fire.

A scowl crossed his face as he mentally backed up to that first call of the day. Captain Hammer had pulled both paramedics aside between the later runs and had given them some information. It seemed that the victim in the car had been on his way to his daughter's wedding; the boulder had come off a truck in front of the car and crashed through the windshield. Gage swallowed hard, trying to force down the bile rising in his throat, as he desperately tried to block out the unwanted images that replayed themselves over and over again in his mind.

Thankfully, he was distracted by the sound of the garage door going up. Seconds later the klaxons sounded and the lights came on, summoning the station to a vehicle over the road in Topanga Canyon. John went to the radio and responded to the transmission, writing down the address and pulling up his suspenders over his jacket simultaneously. Looking out the bay door, he could see the steady downpour of rain outside; he grabbed his turnout coat, seeing his partner do the same, and trotted to the engine door. He handed the dark haired engineer, waiting patiently in the rumbling engine, the call slip and jumped into the cab of the squad, grabbing his helmet and strapping it on as Roy followed the Crown Firecoach out the door.

* * *

><p>Thanks for all the reviews - since this is my first story it helps to have input. The boulder accident really happened here in my home town years ago; he was on his way to his daughter's wedding. To the guest who asked if this story is leading into slash - nope! Didn't even know what that meant until I started reading fan fiction back in July!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Navigating their way down the slick roads through the late Saturday night traffic, the squad and the engine finally turned onto the canyon road. Five minutes later, John directed Roy's attention to the flashing lights of the sheriff's car pulled over on the cliff side of the road. His head slightly out of the open window, Gage could clearly see the missing guardrail even in the torrential downpour that was drumming a steady beat on his helmet. Like a turtle, he pulled his head in and rolled up the window. He glanced over at Roy while pulling up the collar of his coat.

"I sure hope there's only one car over that edge…"

Yeah, me too," Roy agreed, pulling to the side of the road and angling the truck so that the headlights shone on the gap toothed rail. Mike parked directly in front of the opening, anticipating the need for the ropes to be tied to the front.

All of the men made their way across the wet pavement and joined the deputy standing on the muddy shoulder, flashlight pointed down the steep hill. He raised his helmeted head and greeted the crew with a nod, waving his hand and pointing down.

"Witness states that the car was speeding, lost control, and slid right thru the rail and over the embankment. Haven't heard any signs of life, but then again," Vince Howard shrugged and indicated with a gloved hand the noisiness of the rain and the occasional thunder.

The paramedics, standing closest to the edge, looked at each other.

"Geesh…" Roy muttered, turning on his heel and heading toward the squad, Johnny at his heels.

"My thoughts exactly," replied Johnny, grabbing the ropes as his partner pulled out the belts and flashlights. They could hear Hammer shouting orders at the engine crew to set up lights and ready the stokes as they slammed the compartment doors and squished their way to the front of the engine. Lopez and Kelly tied off their respective ropes to the hooks while the two rescue men secured their belts and knotted off their lines. Gage checked the deep pocket of his coat for the ht and added his flashlight, then double checked his line and belt; satisfied that everything was ready, he took a deep breath and shot a sideways glance at DeSoto. Roy nodded and together they began their descent, feeling the tension on their lines as the men manned the lines above them.

Slipping and sliding his way through the mud and brush, Gage let out an exclamation as his feet went out from under him and he dropped to his knees; the air whooshed out of his lungs in a startled gasp as his safety belt jerked upwards and tightened around him.

"More slack for Johnny!" Roy cried out, accessing the situation in a glance and stopping his own downward slide. As the rope loosened, his partner fell flat on his back, feet pointed uphill. "You ok Johnny?"

"Yeah, yeah," Gage, gasping for air, finally coughed in reply. He grabbed the rope to sit up, then pulled himself upwards and all the way to his feet. "These blasted boots!"

Roy grinned at the sight of his partner – the front of him was dripping wet with rain while the back of him was dripping with mud. His helmet had remained on but was tipped almost vertically on the back of his head; even as he watched, his bedraggled partner was jerking in irritation at the strangling chin strap. Pulling his glove off with his teeth, he finally was able to loosen the strap and push the helmet forward.

"Over there!" Roy shouted, pointing over to Gage's right and down about twenty feet. Both men moved sideways and then slowly down the remaining distance. Lying on its roof, a Volkswagen van was settled in the dirt, the driver's side parallel to the slope of the hill.

Hunkering down on his heels and resting his right hand on the frame, Johnny tipped his head and peered into the interior, his left hand using his flashlight to illuminate.

"Hey man, what took you so long?" A lazy, drawled out voice asked him, a cloud of smoke wafting out the window and enveloping the paramedic.

"Hell…..!" John muttered under his breath, instinctively pulling back and coughing as the pot fumes wafted over him. "You all right? Anybody…(cough) else in there?" (Cough, cough)

"Yeah man, my chick, she's like out ya know? Can you get us out of here? I feel like a bat, man, hanging upside down…wow, a real rush! My chick, like, fastened my seat belt, and it won't let me go…kinda stuck, like…." He rambled on, waving the hand that held the joint.

Coughing uncontrollably, Gage pulled off a glove and reached up under his coat. He pulled his scissors out of his assessment pouch, dropped to his knees, and reached in to cut the belt. "Put that thing out, "he coughed out, trying to see past his streaming eyes.

"But man, that's the good stuff! It's gold!" The man protested, arms still waving as John tried to find the belt and dodge the flailing arms.

"You've gotta hold still!" Seriously annoyed, miserable, wet, and about ready to toss his cookies, John Gage was finding it hard to maintain his composure and his professionalism. Rocking backwards on his knees, he looked again at the flailing man and realized he couldn't cut the lap belt from the outside without potentially injuring the victim. He stuck the scissors between his teeth, lunged in through the window, and grabbed the man's wrist. Grabbing the joint in his ungloved hand, he smashed it against his wet turnout coat, wincing as the lit tip burned his palm.

The stoned man paused in his nonsensical dialogue, finally noticing his empty fingers. "Where'd it go? Hey, what ya doin…?" Gage didn't reply, too busy squirming his way between the man's lap and the steering wheel. Grunting, he dropped awkwardly, outstretched arms first, onto the floor, or rather the ceiling, between the seats. Rising to his knees, he checked the passenger's neck for a carotid pulse and was relieved to find a strong one. He sighed in annoyance when he noticed smoke drifting up from another lit joint somewhere near the unconscious woman- finding that and putting it out would have to wait for the moment. He turned back to her male companion and studied him for a moment by the light of his partner's flashlight shining through the interior. He had a feeling that he knew the answer to the question he was about to ask the man, but asked it anyway.

"You have any pain…are you hurt anywhere?" He queried, carefully and quickly running his hands down the driver's legs and arms checking for fractures.

"Nah, it's real cool. What a wild ride down, man…"

"Yeah, ok….look, I'm going to cut the belt, but first I'm going to check your neck for injury…then I'm going to shift you a little and take some of your weight, so you don't fall on your head when I cut the belt. Roy, can you get his legs?" Roy answered by leaning in through the window and wrapping his arms around the man's jean clad legs.

Trying to stifle his coughing, the younger paramedic angled the driver slightly toward him, as much as the lap belt would allow, and tried to take some of his weight. He cut the belt and with his partner's help carefully maneuvered the now mumbling man up and out the window, trying to keep his neck and back straight.

"I'm going to check out the passenger, gonna need a collar. Think we can get a backboard in here?" Gage asked Roy, kneeling on the seat back and holding out the ht to him. Roy looked over at him as he helped the driver into the stokes that Marco had brought down; after settling the victim, Roy returned to the window and grasped the proffered ht.

"Yeah…short board maybe…." Johnny nodded and moved clumsily back to the space between the seats and began assessing the young woman. He pushed back on his heels after checking her out and fished deep into the pocket of his turnout coat. He snapped the vial in two under her nose and was rewarded with an immediate return to consciousness as she choked and coughed her way to alertness.

"Hey, it's ok, I'm a paramedic with the fire department…my name is John, what's yours?" He asked as she stared at him with glassy eyes, blinking slowly as she looked at him and then tried to turn her head. "No, try and stay still while I check you out. Do you have any pain?" He laid his still ungloved hand on her stomach to check her respirations.

"Melanie….no, no I'm fine…what happened…where's Dwayne?" She gasped out, moving her gaze back to the paramedic kneeling by her side. "Wow, you look as high as I feel, baby…..that feels totally sweet….."

Johnny immediately dropped his hands to his sides, but couldn't help smirking. She was right about the high part; he definitely had a buzz going on. From past experience, he knew he had a low tolerance for drugs, even in small quantities. They affected him fast and seemed to linger in his body for a long time. He was really going to have to focus…..

"What's the…uh…status on the board and collar, Roy?" He called out, feeling a hand grabbing the leg of his bunker pants as he half stood and leaned towards the driver's window. Glancing down, he could see that Melanie had hold of him and was trying to pull him back towards her. "No…ahhh!"

A string of expletives flashed through his head as the one mud encrusted boot he had precariously planted on the floor(ceiling) shot out from under him and he landed in an impossibly tangled heap between the upside down seats. He found himself face to face with the girl, who was definitely leering at him. Do girls leer? He wondered idly, watching as her hand stroked his bruised face and she winked at him. Definitely on something stronger then pot, too. His eyes shifted sideways to the smoke pluming gently across his face, and he unconsciously took in a deep breath, which resulted in another bout of harsh coughing.

"John….Johnny….you're so nice…are you going to rescue me? Breathe deep, baby, and let it take you for a ride…. Your face is so pretty with all those colors…and your eyes…I can see your soul…"

Roy couldn't help but snicker as he looked through the window, leaning on the short backboard as he pushed it through the opening. His apparently dazed partner was in a contorted heap, arms and legs in four different directions. The girl looked like she was giving him mouth to mouth; she was that close to him. Hearing his partner's snort of laughter, Gage came back to life and struggled to get his feet under him. Even in the dim light, Roy thought he could see a blush creeping up his partner's dirty, wet and already flushed face. "You need a hand there, Gage?"

"No, no, jus' let me get…uh upright…..come on, Melanie, hold still now…." Somehow the embarrassed paramedic managed to get the collar around her neck, cut her seatbelt, and slide her partway onto the board, all the while trying to fend off her groping hands. Roy crawled partly in and grabbed the end of the board; he began wiggling backward with the assistance of the engine's linemen.

"Don't leave me Johnny…" Melanie cried out as she began moving backwards with the board. She reached out a hand and, unfortunately for the flustered fireman, managed to get a hand, and a fierce grip on him, between the legs…

"Shi…!" He screamed out, jerking free and falling backwards, slamming into the door and closed window of the van. He grunted in pain as first his back impacted the door, and then his head snapped back into the glass. There was a sudden silence as everyone in and outside of the vehicle froze as the van shifted in the mud.

Swallowing back his apprehension, DeSoto manhandled the board and the girl out of the van. The three firemen laid the now silent girl into the stokes and Roy quickly turned back to help his partner. To his relief, John was already attempting to crawl out and he assisted him out and down onto the ground, where the beleaguered young man stretched out onto his stomach and lay panting.

Seeing that Lopez and Kelly were on their way up the hill with the stokes, Roy crouched down next Gage and laid a careful hand on his shoulder. "You ok there, John?"

The object of his concerned attention rolled an eye at him, squinting up through the pouring rain and still coughing slightly. "How about…next time….you go first?"

"Done deal, partner," Roy answered, relieved that his new partner seemed to be ok. He paused when Johnny managed to roll partly over and reached up a hand to shove something at him. He took the now completely doused marijuana joint from the other man's fingers and looked in puzzlement at him. Gage grinned weakly at him.

"Gotta prevent forest fires, ya know? Get rid of that, will ya?"

Roy scrambled to his feet and obliged by grinding the offending joint into the ground. He then reached down to assist Gage up; it took several tries but finally his partner was on his feet. Johnny reached a hand up to his wet head and realized something was missing.

"Awwww man, my helmet is gone again!"

"Leave it Johnny, just leave it, ok?" Roy grabbed his arm as he turned back towards the van. Gage looked at him and then back at the van, shrugging his shoulders in a resigned gesture.

"Yeah, think you got a point there," he muttered, picking up the rope while searching one handedly through his pockets for his glove. Both men began the slow climb back up the hill.

They were almost to the top when Roy stumbled and went down on one knee. John crow hopped sideways and helped him up. "What happened?"

"Think I found a hole – my foot found it anyways…." He answered, wincing as he put weight on his foot. "Think I twisted my ankle."

"Huh, good thing we're almost to the top. I don't think the guys would appreciate hauling another stokes up!" The men grinned at each other; Roy threw his arm over his partner's shoulder and together they hauled themselves to the top, where several pairs of willing hands assisted them.

Learning that squad 36 had taken care of their extracted victims, who were now on route to the hospital for observation, Johnny helped Roy hobble over to the squad. Roy sat down on the passenger side, legs hanging out while Gage tried to pull his boot off. After the third unsuccessful attempt to pull off the boot resulted in his partner landing on his butt on the pavement, laughing, Roy had a sudden realization. He leaned forward, pen light in hand, and waved at his giggling partner, still sitting on the ground.

"Gage, look at me." John smirked but did as directed, wincing as the light played across his face. DeSoto looked at his dilated pupils and shook his head in disbelief. "How much of that smoke did you inhale, exactly?"

"Jus enough for me to forget what a sh..uh lousy day I've been having!" Gage threw back at him, flashing him his crooked grin. Aside from that brief exchange on the hillside, Roy realized that was the first time he had seen the younger man genuinely smile all shift. He gasped as his boot finally came off, and felt Johnny's hands checking his slightly swollen ankle.

"Doesn't seem broken. Want me to….ahhh ….. wrap it before you head over to Rampart?"

"Sure…." Roy leaned wearily against the side of the seat and closed his eyes. He could hear Johnny noisily getting the supplies out of the compartment, and then felt his ankle being wrapped. The sound of his boot being dropped into the cab roused him, and he obligingly swung his legs into the truck with his partner's assistance. He looked up as the other man leaned against the open door and ran a slightly trembling hand across his face.

"Ya know, Roy, I think maybe I've got.." whatever disclosure John was going to make was cut off by their captain appearing behind them. He slapped a hand on Gage's shoulder and peered in at Roy.

"That ankle broke, DeSoto?"

"No sir, just twisted it or maybe sprained it. Doesn't feel bad at all since Johnny wrapped it."

"Good. Get your partner over to the hospital to get checked out, Gage."

"Uh, cap, maybe you could get Lopez or Kelly to drive the squad in. I'm not feeling very clearheaded right now, kinda took in some of that marijuana smoke…"

Hammer moved back a step and lifted his hand to shine his light up and over the still leaning fireman, who was now jiggling a leg slightly. His paramedic squinted back at him, water running down his helmetless head and joining the mud, which coated the back AND the front of his turnouts, to pool at his feet.

"Gage, you need a trip to Rampart too?" Gage shot a "help me" look over to his partner, who shrugged and lifted his hands in a noncommittal gesture.

"Nah, I'm good, just need some time and some dry clothes."

"Get Stoker to hose you off before you climb into the engine," Hammer ordered, heading away from the squad with the bedraggled paramedic close behind him. "And Gage, where the hell is your helmet this time?"

Roy smiled as he turned slightly in his seat to watch the men move off; his partner seemed to be sinking lower into his boots as their captain berated him over the missing helmet. Stoker pulled the line off the truck and sprayed Gage down, who slowly turned in a circle with arms outstretched, a pained look on his face.

The sound of the driver's side door opening caught DeSoto's attention and he reluctantly closed his own door and looked over at Chet Kelly, who had apparently won the job of chauffer.

"You would think, right, that after all these years the fire department would get rid of all those open cabbed rigs? I mean, come on, I know it doesn't rain that…." Roy slid down in his seat a little more as Kelly began a discussion on the merits of the open cabbed trucks versus the closed. He closed his eyes and wrinkled his nose as the smell of, well, wet firemen assaulted his nostrils, debating whether to open his window. He mentally shook his head at the idea and decided instead to catch a few minutes of sleep, confident that Chet's voice would lead him into the land of Nod. As he dozed off, he wondered if Kelly was going to be the talkative one of their crew, definitely not Stoker or Lopez. As for Gage, well that remained to be seen; he seemed to be opening up more…nah, there was no way Johnny was going to be the outspoken one of their shift!

* * *

><p>Thanks again for all the reviews, I appreciate it.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Just borrowing the characters, they belong to Universal and Mark VII. I've always wished the writers would have, could have, continued some of the story lines throughout the series, instead of each episode being a stand alone. The obvious dislike between John Gage and Kel Brackett in the pilot movie just disappeared….so wanted to play with that a little!

* * *

><p>John Gage climbed slowly into Kelly's seat on the engine, trying but failing to keep his teeth from chattering. He slumped miserably in the seat, flashing Marco, already seated, a brief smile before wearily closing his eyes. The advantages and disadvantages of being a paramedic, he mused, as he checked his pulse to see if it was still racing. Taking his own vitals and knowing what the results meant could be a good or bad thing. Thankfully, his pulse was slower now, that bit of smoke he had breathed in was hopefully working its way out of his system. He definitely could feel himself crashing. He slit his eyes open a crack and turned his head sideways again to look at Marco, who was looking right back at him.<p>

"You ok? That girl got a pretty good hold on you." The concern was evident in his voice and the way he leaned in his seat towards Gage, as if to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Johnny grimaced, partly in discomfort but mostly in remembered embarrassment. "Yeah, thank God for the heavy pants. I think she startled me more than anything."

He made another face and rubbed the back of his head, wincing at the small bump his fingers encountered. Nothing like falling backwards on his own tail, twice, in front of the victim and his partner. Not to mention laying there like an idiot, sucking up smoke, while that doped up chick put the moves on him. Although, come to think of it, she was a pretty good looking chick, with that long blond hair, legs that….sheesh, get a grip Gage!

His hands dropped to his knees, nervously tapping. He splayed his fingers flat, noticing with relief that his hands now seemed steady. He wondered if Roy had noticed his shaking hands when he had wrapped his ankle…..what if squad 36 hadn't been there to back them up? John seriously doubted that he could have started an IV or even managed a simple splint if those people had been injured. His thoughts drifted back towards the single vehicle accident that he and Roy had responded to, after picking up Dixie at the hospital, on one of their first runs together; he vividly recalled standing there holding the drug box like a, well, like a girl selling cigarettes at a 50's nightclub. Crap, all he needed was that strap to wrap around his neck and hook to the box, so he would have had his hands free. Then the cop on the scene had asked them to help direct traffic, for Pete's sake! That had really ticked him off. (1)

Self-doubt, about his actions on the rescue and especially his newly won medic skills, began to creep slowly through him on soft padded feet. The "what ifs?" were piling up and slamming against his skull, adding to the torment already swirling around in his pounding head. He slumped down even further into the seat, huddling into his thoroughly soaked turnout coat. Coughing slightly, he tipped his head back, letting the rain pelt his face.

The Hispanic lineman, watching Gage's nervous movements, shook his head and pulled the collar of his own coat up tighter around his neck. He wondered briefly about why the paramedic seemed to be self-inflicting pain on himself, by letting the sharp, pierces of water pummel him in the face. Just the sound of it smacking his helmet was giving him a headache. "You both did a good job of pulling that couple out of the van. Another few minutes, you would have been going on your own slip and slide ride down that hill."

Johnny raised his hand slightly to acknowledge the other man's words, but kept his head back and eyes closed. Encouraging words, to be sure, from someone he didn't really know that well. Even though the A shift crew had been together only a month or so, they seemed to work well together. The three single men on the shift had even gone out once or twice on their days off for some beers and a few games of friendly, well mostly friendly, pool. He didn't quite feel at ease yet with Chet Kelly; the man seemed to be always sizing him up for something or staring at him with a smirk on his face, like he was planning something. From what he had observed of Kelly at work, though, he was a good fireman and definitely a team player.

But Marco, on the other hand, seemed to be ok both at work and away from it. He was easy going, had a large family of siblings and cousins that he seemed to be at ease with, and was always quick with a word of praise, a joke, or a carefully worded suggestion of how to do something better. And Roy was right, the man could definitely put the chow together for a great meal.

Wiping futilely at the water dripping from his hair, the young man dropped his head and sighed, and glanced sideways again. Marco was still watching him, his face occasionally illuminated when the clouds slid away from the light of the almost full moon. Tiredness was clearly evident on the other man's face but he was clearly ignoring it. He seemed to be trying to figure something out, and Johnny had no qualms that it had something to do with him or his actions. Great, now there was someone else having doubts about him and the way he had performed his job. The sincere offer of encouragement and praise from Marco was quickly forgotten as paranoia enveloped him in its dark tentacles. It would have been clear to anyone else that the marijuana was wreaking havoc on the sable haired paramedic, but for Johnny it was just another added brick on the impenetrable wall slowly building around him.

Slapping his knee in frustration and anger, Johnny deliberately turned his body away from Marco, effectively telling the other man that their conversation was ended. He again offered his face up to the punishing onslaught of water pouring from the heavens, hoping the discomfort would distract him from his dark, boiling thoughts.

Lopez watched his crewman; it was like looking through the lenses of one of those Viewmaster toys, every emotion and thought vividly flashing across Gage's face one at a time. He winced as the other man pointedly turned his back on him, and then lifted his now carefully blank face to the rain. Having had his own handful of experiences with drugs, Marco could really understand and empathize with whatever was going on in Gage's head. It just seemed that it was hitting him awfully hard, maybe because of his weakened state? Marco wasn't quite sure, but he would keep an eye on him. Gage really seemed like good guy, maybe a little naïve and gullible at times, but definitely someone to count on as a friend; more importantly, he knew he could count on him to back him up on a hose or would trust his judgment implicitly when it came down to split second decisions during a rescue.

Marco debated on whether or not he should voice his thoughts. Probably not, considering the unreceptive and clearly annoyed mood Johnny seemed to be wallowing in. He probably wouldn't remember any of this anyway, at least he hoped so. The engine roaring to life put a stop to any further thoughts of attempting conversation between the two firemen; Marco settled in for the long, wet ride back to the station.

Roy DeSoto jolted awake as the squad came to a jerking halt in front of the emergency doors of Rampart hospital. He shot Chet a glare, rubbing the back of his stiff neck and trying to stretch the kinks out of his back.

"What?" Kelly asked innocently, lifting an open hand in a placating gesture towards Roy. "I'm really not used to driving this matchbox truck of yours."

Roy just shook his head and swung himself carefully out, gingerly putting weight on his injured ankle. Not too bad, he thought, splashing his way through the puddles on the pavement. Chet caught up to him as he paused to let the doors swing open, and grasped him by the elbow. "Hey, shouldn't I get you a wheelchair or something?"

"Nope, just see if you can find someone. Doesn't look too bad for a rainy Saturday night," Desoto answered, heading for the nurses' desk, where he could see the two paramedics from 36 leaning.

"Hey Desoto, nice rescue! Bang yourself up a little?" The shorter of the two paramedics queried, watching Roy's limping progress.

"Twisted my ankle a bit coming back up the hill. How's the uh….couple doing that you brought in?"

Jack Collins snorted and bumped elbows with his partner. "Feeling no pain, that's for sure! Hey, what did Gage do to that girl down there, anyway? Once she got in the ambulance, she couldn't stop talking about the "dreamy fireman" who saved her. Sure brought her boyfriend down to the earth, thought he was going to throttle her! Johnny had better watch out!"

Not about to rat his partner out about his slightly high condition, Roy shrugged. "Just that ole Gage charm we keep seeing with anything that is female, no matter what the age…"

"Where is your charming partner, anyways? Isn't that Kelly heading in our direction?" Collins pointed down the hallway at Chet sloshing in their direction, the head of the emergency department striding alongside of him.

"Yeah, that's Kelly. Gage went back to the station to try and get some sleep; he worked a 24 over at 10s before coming on this morning." Roy stepped away from the desk as Dr. Kelly Brackett stopped and looked him over.

"Roy…..Kelly here tells me you twisted your ankle. Let's go into treatment room 2 and take a look."

"Sure doc, thanks." The paramedic waved a hand in departure at the other firemen and followed the dark haired doctor into the room. After removing his turnout coat and dropping it into the corner, he hoisted himself up on the exam table and stoically endured the unwrapping of his ankle and the gentle prodding that followed.

Looking up at the nurse who had followed them into the room, Brackett straightened up and carefully let go of Roy's foot. "Jean, get a set of vitals on Roy here. I don't think it is broken, Roy, but we'll get an x-ray to make sure."

"That's what Johnny thought too. That's a huge relief, Doctor Brackett. Think I can finish my shift?"

The doctor crossed his arms and his mouth twitched slightly at the corner as he pondered. "Let's see what the x-rays say, and go from there. Definitely no climbing or strenuous activity. Is your shift about over, or are you on a 48?"

DeSoto glanced at his watch, almost one in the morning. "About seven more hours to go…"

Once the nurse had finished taking the vitals and left the room to check on the portable x-ray machine, Brackett looked at his now relaxed patient. "Well Roy, is the paramedic program what you thought it would be?"

"Yeah, yeah it is, doc. I mean, it's still all pretty unfamiliar to us, but it feels like it's starting to come together and we're getting more comfortable with everything," Roy slowly smiled up at the doctor. "Does that make sense?"

Brackett smiled back. "Yes it does. I have to admit, I still have some doubts, but everything I have seen and heard so far admittedly points to a long and successful program. Obviously, there are going to be some bumps in the road, but I think if we address those concerns as they occur this whole "almost doctor at the scene" scenario is going to work just fine." Kelly paused and ran a thoughtful hand across his chin. "And your new partner, how's that working out?"

"Johnny? He's just great. He's reacts instinctively and quickly to every situation. It feels right, us being partners. We seem to balance each other out."

"Meaning what, exactly? That your level and cool responses balance out his stubborn and hot headed reactions? Or that you have to keep a tight rope on him to keep him from jumping, "quickly", with both feet into a dangerous situation?"

Roy's mouth dropped open slightly and he blinked rapidly in both surprise and shock at the doctor's words and the sarcastic tone used. He remembered Johnny's own sarcastic tone concerning the "big man himself" when he had asked him about a possible concussion.

The irate paramedic straightened up fully on the table and leaned forward, balancing a palm on each side of his taut body. "What's going on here, doc? You just took my positive comments regarding Gage, twisted them, and threw them back at me. You have some kind of complaint or problem with my "new" partner, you'd better spit it out now!"

Brackett quickly took a step back at the other man's angry tone and defensive posture. "Ok, ok, I admit that just came out wrong. Roy, all of you paramedics are my responsibility, whether you or I like it or not. Every time I have dealings with Gage he challenges or argues with every word out of my mouth. He's a damn fireman, not a doctor with over twelve years of training under his belt!"

The doctor took another step backward and sank down on the rolling stool, as realization sank in at the words he had just spat out. Roy just stared at him, waiting…..Brackett sighed, and looked sheepishly up and over at the completely still younger man.

"Looks like I just put my foot in my mouth, again. I'm sorry, DeSoto, I guess I could blame this outburst on sheer exhaustion, but we would both know better. I seem to have focused in on your young partner as a scapegoat for everything that has transgressed in the last month or so, including my very slow and reluctant approval of the paramedic program. Nurse McCall would be the first one to tell you that I am as stubborn and hard headed as they come."

"Yeah, well, maybe you and Johnny have more in common than you would like to admit, Doc. I'm seeing that same stubbornness coming out of him, especially when he knows he's right. He's definitely not going to back down on something, as you very well know, and he's MOST DEFINATELY not going to be afraid of confrontation, especially with you."

"I know that, I've seen it several times over the last few months. I guess I'm not used to being bearded in my own den, so to speak. I think I owe your partner an apology, especially after this morning…"

"What happened this morning? John checked out ok, didn't he?" Roy queried quietly, concern leaking into his voice. Brackett, after taking a long look at the obviously worried paramedic, rose from his seated position and paced restlessly around the exam room, hands on his hips. He stopped and stared thoughtfully at DeSoto, wondering just how close the two men were becoming. In his opinion, the partners were like night and day, polar opposites of each other. Gage came across as opinionated, impetuous, quick with smart ass comments, and with a temper easily ignited. Roy, on the other hand, seemed cool headed, practical – you would have to push him pretty hard to see any outburst of emotion. In fact, Brackett had never heard him raise his voice in anger until two minutes ago.

The doctor circled around the table, resuming his pacing before replying to Roy's questions.

"He checked out just fine. You know I can't give you any more details than that. He did give a pretty impressive display of jaw and fist clenching and aside from some grunts I didn't get more than three words out of him. One of those words was a definite "NO" to the suggestion of a pain killer or muscle relaxer. Roy, I was brusque and downright rude to Gage, especially after he wouldn't explain the reason for his injuries. He was certainly pushing all the right buttons with me, starting with his obvious reluctance to even let me examine him. Appeared to me that he didn't trust me as a doctor, and from that point on I'm afraid I let my temper and impartiality escalate out of control." Kel finally stopped his pacing, crossed his arms, and leaned against the side of the exam table, taking a deep, steadying breath.

"John knows you're a good doctor; he's never had any doubts there. And he wouldn't have been able to return to work with any kind of meds in him….And he got those bruises from subduing an out of control hose, that someone else let loose." Roy thought a moment, trying to remember how his partner had acted when Dr. Joe Early had checked them both out a week earlier; they had both taken in excessive smoke at a structure fire and as a precaution had been checked out. Johnny had been silent but slightly skittish, flinching and subtlety leaning away when Early had "invaded his space". Roy had noticed it though, and simply chalked it up to Gage still running high on adrenaline. "I think Gage doesn't like to be on the receiving end of medical care. I know he doesn't like needles when they're aimed at him!"

"All right, I'll try not to take that personally. I still don't understand why he wouldn't explain his injuries; it actually caused me to think that he had been careless on the job and didn't want to admit it. But I can say this, DeSoto, your partner seems to have an awfully high tolerance for pain. You'd better keep an eye on that."

"Yeah, I'm beginning to realize the same thing myself, along with a few other weird things," Roy whispered to himself in reply, as the doors swung open revealing the rolling x-ray machine and the technician. Roy obediently laid back on the table, thoughts swirling, something nagging at him. What HAD Johnny been about to tell him before the captain interrupted them?

* * *

><p>(1)From the Emergency episode World Premier, written by Cinader and Bloom.<p> 


End file.
